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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25554787">an ode in six parts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/monophobian/pseuds/monophobian'>monophobian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, F/M, Sparks Fly in July</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:28:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,139</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25554787</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/monophobian/pseuds/monophobian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaede had taught her many things since their first lesson, but there were three rules that Kagome knew she could never escape: </p><p>1. Words held power, promises even more. Be careful what you speak because it will become reality.<br/>2. Learning magick was simple, but never easy. The easy path only led to destruction.<br/>3. Only fools looking for miracles entered the forest and all they ever found was death.</p><p>Kagome always knew she'd come face-to-face with those warnings before long.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Higurashi Kagome/Kouga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sparks Fly in July</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>an ode in six parts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Loosely inspired by <a href="https://nikkxb.tumblr.com/post/179792194693/what-if-kagome-was-a-witch-from-american-horror">this prompt</a> I answered a couple years ago.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>i.</em>
</p><p>The fair was in full bloom as day bled into night. Dusk settled over and lanterns were lit, that small moment where everything was almost too bright to see. Lights glittered, people bustled down the street, conversations rose as the first night of the annual festival began. Kagome’s attention darted everywhere and to everything — except to the man ordering food at a street cart. She didn’t know he was there until she walked into him.</p><p>“Forgive me,” she gasped hastily, stepping back as the man righted himself with the aid of the vendor’s cart. Mortified, she checked over his clothes looking for any dust or dirt stain she might have caused. “I’m so sorry, did I ruin anything?”</p><p>The stranger caught her hand as she frantically surveyed her own clothing, his rough with calluses and hot to the touch. Kagome looked up into the clearest blue eyes she’d ever seen and stuttered into silence.</p><p>“Are you okay?” he asked. It was three simple words, the very same she’d said to him, but a subtle pull danced along her skin and soothed her panic into something else. He glanced away to say something to the vendor, handing over a bit of coin before she could catch what was going on. The grip on her wrist adjusted to a smoother one, one intended to coax, and Kagome wasn’t surprised to find she didn’t want to pull away.</p><p>His warmth seeped into her, but it wasn’t just that. A play along her skin spoke of magick so similar to hers and yet vastly different. It was a natural as the green grass in the field, as free as the bird in the sky, but <em>old</em>. Ancient in ways she couldn’t fathom. Her own magick rose to the surface of her skin to feel the glide of his, to welcome it further, but she didn’t allow it to do more.</p><p>Greeting was acceptable and appropriate; mingling was not.</p><p>The vendor spoke up and only then did he release her, taking two small bowls of an iced treat. With a slide of his body, he ushered her away from the cart and on a leisurely walk down the street.</p><p>“Here.” The man passed her one of the bowls, a subtle command in his voice she was willing to obey. Kagome took the bowl and it wasn’t until she tasted her first bite that he continued speaking. “Now. Are you alright?”</p><p>“Yes,” she answered around the sweet taste dancing on her tongue. Had that been a new food cart? She’d never tasted anything of this flavor before and she’d been attending this fair since she was old enough to walk. “I am sorry—”</p><p>“Do you like it?” He seemed wholly uninterested in her apologies, but watched her carefully for her answer as he scooped up his own first taste.</p><p>“Delicious.” She took another bite, all previous hesitation washing away the more she ate.</p><p>“Tell me,” came his next rumble, his voice stroking over her skin in a rough, potent caress, “are you here alone?”</p><p>An alert flared through the calm she’d adopted, an unease sparkling as she thought over the question. A man she’d never met before carrying a magick she both recognized and yet had never known asking if she attended a village event at night alone? Not even the sweetness bursting on her tongue could distract her from that caution. “I met a couple friends here.”</p><p>It wasn’t a lie — Kagome was very careful not to lie. Lies left traces and with the magick dancing along his feet with each step, she didn’t want to leave any traces. Half-truths and omissions were second nature after discovering what lying did to her own magick. She snuck a peek up at the man as he ate more, but nothing on his face gave anything away.</p><p>“Do you make a habit of wandering off alone?”</p><p>“No,” came a haltering answer, nerves racing again but for different reasons. His question was simple and full of concern, but she had the strongest notion he was asking her something entirely different. “Not usually, but my friends wanted to watch one of the performances and I wanted to continue shopping.”</p><p>She could feel the weight of his gaze on her, the same caress she’d felt in his magick over her skin. It almost seemed like he was seeking something, some knowledge she was hoping to keep tucked away.</p><p>“Pity.” It was a stroke of a word, forceful and containing a thousand different meanings. “Though I guess a young, beautiful woman wandering alone would invite the sort of attention you would want to avoid.”</p><p>Kagome couldn’t have voiced a response if she had one. His words carried <em>power</em>, a power so old and deep and natural, she knew she hadn’t misread his magick. A handless caress washed down her spine and the shivers that followed were both inviting and rebuking. What was he trying to do?</p><p>“May I have your name?”</p><p>The question was so soothing and intentionally inviting, Kagome stopped in her tracks. The mix of it all — his presence, the weight in his voice, the draw of his magick dancing on the air, Kagome had never encountered anything like this. “Have?” she queried, trusting the instincts that raised the small hairs on the back of her neck as she looked up at him through the shadows growing in the night. “Is it something you wish to own?”</p><p>She was glad she was watching him because the smile that broke over his face could only be described as cunning. Mischief sparkled in his eyes, like he knew he had been caught and was delighted by it.</p><p>“I wish to own a great many things,” his gaze danced over her face again, that all-but-physical touch, “but for now, I will settle for less. If I may not have your name, will you tell me what I can call you?”</p><p>She swallowed, the sweet treat in her hands long forgotten as the street fell away. His gaze was potent and demanding and a myriad of other things she couldn’t parse through. “You may call my Kagome,” she answered, “but only because I choose so.”</p><p>His smile deepened and Kagome felt an overwhelming sensation that he was inordinately pleased. “Thank you, Kagome.” Her name was different on his lips and confirmed her instincts — giving this man her name would not have been wise. “I’ll make sure to continue earning your favor.”</p><p>He looked over his shoulder, breaking the spell between them. All too quickly did Kagome realize they were standing at the edge of town, the last of the lights flickering over her face where the shadows of the forest loomed close.</p><p>“Enjoy the rest of your night,” he said as he turned back to her, his eyes saying everything but goodbye. “It looks like your friends are heading this way.”</p><p>She turned and found Eri and Yuki approaching fast, Ayame trailing behind. Kagome almost waved at them before a piece to the puzzle the man introduced snapped into place, her eyes jerking back to find the stranger who shouldn’t know what her friends looked like.</p><p>He was gone. And yet resting where he stood was a piece of parchment threaded through the teeth of an ornate hair comb. The comb was gorgeous, green and pink stones flickering off gold metal and surrounded by intricate designs that appeared to have been carved into the metal. Running her finger over the textured design, Kagome noted the magick practically woven in as if it were there when the piece was crafted. Sliding the comb in her pocket to keep it hidden so she could inspect it in private — this unique, priceless gift from a strange man she’d never seen containing traces of an old, powerful magick she was inexplicably drawn to — and opened the paper. The single sentence written in bold, masculine script gave way to a flurry of anticipation lined with subtle edges of apprehension:</p><p>
  <em>Should you choose, I look forward to meeting you again.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>ii.</em>
</p><p>Winter left early the next year and summer’s heat was creeping in faster than normal. The fair was set to start and the town bristled with impatience for the sun to set and heat to subside.</p><p>Kagome picked out a simple outfit to wear, the skirt of her dress light and airy and the bodice made from thin linens. It wasn’t the lightest she owned, but it was the right shade of pink to match her hair comb. Over the last year, she’d found nothing hidden in the gift. It was exactly as she’d first found it — a beautiful, precious comb holding a murmur of magick that felt like the man who’d given it to her.</p><p>If it was enchanted, she decided after months of trials and tests, it was only enchanted to remain in one’s hair. She pinned her hair up off her neck and placed the comb delicately over her right ear. Simple earrings lined up her ears, a small gold chain at her throat paired well with the comb, and a solid gold ring in the middle of her right hand was the only other accessory she chose to wear. Bracelets were the marks of those wishing to be seen and approached, but the person Kagome was wanting to approach wouldn’t be looking for something on her wrist.</p><p>Walking into town, she breathed in the anticipation on the air. Every year it felt like this; it was one of the consistent things Kagome always enjoyed about the night. Vendors had already set up and performers were gathering their audiences and the townsfolk was starting to trickle in with coins bustling in their pockets. Kagome smiled and greeted and waved and hugged as she went through the fair, trying to keep her thoughts from centering on the thing that had driven her mad with questions over the last year.</p><p>She knew better than to focus her energies on finding a man who would or would not show. He was a complete stranger, that single night a year ago the first time she’d ever seen him and he hadn’t been in town since. She wanted to see him, she knew that. Her curiosity was piqued, his brash charm had hit its intended mark, and she was anxious to measure her memory of him to the actuality this year could show.</p><p>Besides, it was only polite to thank a person for their gift, specifically one she enjoyed so much.</p><p>Not a single gem in the stands measured up to the comb in her hair. She’d searched. Though it hadn’t been a surprise to discover and she enjoyed looking over the wares each vendor had. Some items held a bit of the world’s magick, little traces that sang out to who could hear. The merchants never could. Ones who could kept their distance unless specifically invited by the item. In all her time, Kagome had never found one that sang for her, but enjoyed watching the moments where they found the right buyer.</p><p>A shift in the air felt familiar and Kagome wasted no time in turning her steps down a particular alleyway. It wasn’t uncommon to flit between the streets this way, but most preferred to follow the main routes and as such, she was afforded a soft privacy as she found a small shadow just far enough away from the noise, pulsing with invitation that tasted the same as the lingering echoes threaded in her gift.</p><p>“The comb looks beautiful in your hair,” a voice said from behind her, strong and steady and wholly enticing. She turned to see his gaze linger on his gift before dropping to meet her gaze. “I hope you like it.”</p><p>“I do.” She offered a shallow curtsy. “Thank you.”</p><p>His lips twitched into what she could call a smile, but it wasn’t the one she remembered most. “Are you enjoying the fair?”</p><p>Those eyes were knowing yet hungry, almost as if he were hoping for the very answer he knew was coming.</p><p>“It’s enjoyable,” she answered, choosing her words carefully, “though there’s only so many times one can look at the same wares year after year.”</p><p>His smile grew, that twinkle she remembered entering his eyes. “Nothing new to catch your eye?”</p><p>“Oh yes, but it’s all the same newness that is brought in.”</p><p>“If something is new, how does it remain the same?”</p><p>He was teasing her. A giddiness bubbled in her veins with that realization. “Whatever there is to purchase might be different, but the routine is never changing.” She motioned down the alley toward the vendor she could still see. “For instance, every year I walk through the streets greeting old friends and new, having the same conversations with hopefuls who wish to part me from my coin, and listen to whatever new stories are sang by the same old musicians.”</p><p>With each word, the air rustled around them in a mirror of the restlessness in her words. Her magick danced along her skin, almost as if they were reaching out for the tendrils she kept feeling on the air.</p><p>“Do you wish for a different experience this year?” he asked, his voice low and silky in her ear.</p><p>“I wish for one similar to last year,” she responded delicately. Agreeing to his request could be dangerous if she wasn’t careful to temper the wide range of what <em>different</em> could mean. “Meeting a new vendor, eating a new food, and maybe walking the streets with new company.”</p><p>His smile finally spread into the full one she remembered from a year ago, the one full of mischief and intrigue. “So careful with your words,” Kouga commented as he held out his arm for her to slide hers into. “One day you might slip.”</p><p>“More than likely,” she responded, a thrill running through her as his warmth seeped into her. “Mistakes are bound to happen, but until then, you shall have to be satisfied with waiting.”</p><p>His answering laugh was low and husky and Kagome knew he was aware of the effect that sound had on her. There was no way he couldn’t be. But he said nothing more and escorted her back to the main street, content with watching her shop, interact, and generally enjoy the far.</p><p>It was exactly the kind of <em>different</em> she’d been looking for.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>iii.</em>
</p><p>Kaede’s gaze was heavy when Kagome walked up to their home.</p><p>The year had been a hard one for the village, the winter deadly with the storms it brought and the illness running rampant through the streets. Tonight’s fair held a somber but necessary air; the people needed the reminder of things to smile about. There were less attendees, less vendors, less performers, but the food was still good, the music still vibrant, and the company full of friendliness.</p><p>Yet Kagome knew those weren’t the thoughts behind the stillness on the woman’s shoulders.</p><p>“Ye met him again, didn’t ye?”</p><p>The direct question wasn’t a surprise. Kaede had never been one for delicacies. Kagome climbed up the stairs, tempted to ignore the words and walk in through the door, but she couldn’t. Something about the curiosity mixed with resignation in the woman’s being held her back.</p><p>“This is the third year,” Kaede continued as she rocked on her chair slightly. “Three times, ye have come back wearing a magick not ye own. Did ye learn his name this time?”</p><p>“Kouga.” Even repeating it left her filled with warmth, the memory of him sharing what she could call him still bringing a smile to her lips. He hadn’t resisted teasing her with the answer she’d given him that first year. “Would you like me to introduce him next year?”</p><p>“Nay,” came the expected answer. Kagome wondered why she would comment consistently on this stranger-turning-friend, yet refuse a trip to the fair to meet him herself. But then, Kaede continued with very unexpected reasoning. “He is not for me to meet.”</p><p>Kagome’s hand fell from the doorknob and she settled down in the second chair on the porch. “You know who he is?”</p><p>“One doesn’t live as long as I have without hearing stories.”</p><p><em>Stories?</em> Kagome knew of none. “Is there a story you haven’t told me, Kaede?”</p><p>The old woman was quiet for a long time, her hardened gaze fixed on the trees in the distance that housed the source of the magick she had taught Kagome how to use. “There are many stories I haven’t told ye,” she finally answered in an old, weary voice. “Some of which I can’t remember, others that I can’t tell, and a few,” those eyes turned to Kagome, “a few that would only do ye harm.”</p><p>Only a few summers before, Kagome would have responded with indignation and an argument. But the magick had changed her over the years, the stories she’d been told as a girl taking shape into something that was real and powerful. If Kaede knew of things that would hurt her, Kagome had experienced enough to know she was right. She’d been right about everything else concerning the magick Kagome knew so well.</p><p>“Is this one?” she asked instead. “Would the story of Kouga do me harm?”</p><p>“Nay,” her answer came on a sigh, “but it wouldn’t do ye any good either.”</p><p>There was no answer to that. Every story had the power for both and it wouldn’t have been the first she’d heard alongside warnings to make wise decisions in seemingly unimportant tasks. And no matter how much part of her wanted to dig out every secret and sift through until she found the answers she so desperately wanted, she knew Kaede would never share if she didn’t want to.</p><p>“Is there anything you can tell me about him?”</p><p>Another sigh, this one old and weighted and giving Kagome hope. “If I am right—”</p><p>Kagome was most positive she was.</p><p>“—he is of a power ye know not of.”</p><p>Kagome bit back her impatient retort. That was nothing she didn’t already know.</p><p>“His magick is as old as the trees in the oldest forest and his will as unbending as the sturdiest mountain.” Kaede took in a shuddering breath. “I knew ye would attract such beings with your own wealth of magick, but I did not think it would be like this.”</p><p>“You think my magick called him?”</p><p>“That and maybe a myriad of other things. What do ye think?”</p><p>While Kagome didn’t believe that to be wrong, she didn’t believe it to be wholly right. Something in the way they interacted, something in the way he was always so pleased when she avoided magickal traps that so many unknowingly fall into, it added another layer to the question. “He asked if he could have my name when I first met him,” she admitted, the precise wording something she’d avoided before.</p><p>Kaede’s response was a sharp, telling intake of breath. “Did ye give it?”</p><p>“No.” Kagome smiled at the memory and how amused he had been. “I told him what he could call me because I chose so.”</p><p>“Was he angry?”</p><p>“He laughed.”</p><p>Kaede’s hand settled on Kagome’s and she was jarred at how much it seemed the woman had aged. “I am glad,” was the response. “I am glad.”</p><p>They spoke no more of that night, Kaede content to watch the trees sway in the night. Kagome retired to her own room, adding tonight’s gift to her growing treasure of memories from the man she met at the fair. His magick touched over her room as the items were placed in the safe home of a small box she kept under her bed.</p><p>Her sleep that night was filled with the sounds of wolves singing in the forest.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>iv.</em>
</p><p>The villagers were restless that night during the fair. Strangers of all sorts had moved through their town from the Capital, all exploring the area on their way to their different homes across the land. Kagome had kept to herself during those afternoons, the barrage of the Capital’s untrained magick an ache that rattled her bones for days after one encounter. It wasn’t something she wished to experience again.</p><p>Kaede had gone into town for the supplies they needed and came back with tales of gossip that would shape the mood for the first night of the fair. It seemed more than one group of magickal travelers were staying to celebrate with them, eager to see what the small, mundane village could offer for a festivity.</p><p>If it hadn’t been for her yearly companion, Kagome would have remained at home.</p><p>Even when approaching as the first rays of dusk settled over the land, Kagome wished she could have missed this. The strange eyes were everywhere, abrasive magick roughly shoved at her hands, her feet, her skin, trying and trying to dig out something for it to play with.</p><p>Oh, she hated this. Hated how the Capital used magick and those that could carry it. Invasive and demanding and everything against the very nature of how the magick worked. Capital Magicians, as they called themselves, worked hard, rose fast to fame, and burned out even faster. Kaede had warned against the appeal of their plight long ago, teaching that if one didn’t learn to feed and nourish, one could only drain dry.</p><p>And once a spring was drained, they are never taught how to replenish what they took.</p><p>Some of the particularly nasty ones developed ways to replenish their magick through unnatural means. With the ways those tendrils kept grabbing and pulling at her, the dark secrets Kagome suspected were growing closer and closer to truth. They drained others to fill their own. No wonder Kaede had started her lessons with protection before moving onto other things.</p><p>After her first brush with the rough shards being thrown about while the people idly watching her pass, Kagome reinforced her own shields. She’d rarely used them in the village, so used to being one of the very few who could use magick, but they were so very necessary now. They would protect her from others who would care to do more than simply satisfy their curiosity with a hard stoke of rough magick against her smoother waves.</p><p>Her heart thud heavily in her chest when she noticed the crowds larger than normal. It wasn’t just the newcomers, she realized, but everyone in the village had come out. Typically, townsfolk came out in waves and never usually on this first night, always saving their crowds for later in the week when the vendors were desperate to sell and the entertainers free with their humor.</p><p>Would he be here? She didn’t want to consider the alternative.</p><p>Moving carefully, Kagome schooled her expression into one of disinterest. Her magick pulsed, but she kept tight control over it, masking it into something subtle she hoped they wouldn’t feel. Kagome would blend in as much as she could, all while on the lookout for that nest of power that always led her to him. With the air so polluted by the Capital’s taint, she was certain she’d feel it the instant it appeared.</p><p>Through the vendors she went, looking and shopping and steadily making her way to what she’d privately marked as their meeting spot. Down the alley where she’d bumped into him that first year and where he’d found her every year since.</p><p>The vendor at that corner was still there, a steady consistent since the first time Kouga bought her the treat. They always visited him first on their route through the fair and she was loathe to break that tradition just yet. She slipped past the vendor unnoticed while a few were placing their orders and hurried down the cobblestones to the little alcove she’d met him before.</p><p>Last year she’d beaten him there, so there was no surprise when she found no one. The air was still oppressive, the noise from the street still loud, but her shoulders drooped in relief. Away from the prying gazes and brash attention, all she had to do now was wait for her companion to show. If he didn’t — her heart banged at the thought — she could sneak her way back home—</p><p>A hand grabbed her arm and twisted her, but it wasn’t the old power she was expecting. Dirty breath filled her face and a weathered man leered down at her. “Where are you going?” he demanded in a dialect that spoke of the coast in the far east. “Leaving so soon?”</p><p>Blood rushed to her ears, but she didn’t panic. His magick was large and thick, but untrained. Shifting around her shield, she fed a bit of her own into the stones at their feet. “I wanted to step away from the noise for a moment,” she answered evenly, concealing the building magick underneath him.</p><p>His answering grin was lecherous and his gaze felt like slime as it trailed down her torso. “We could find a bit of privacy here,” he suggested as his tongue touched his bottom lip. “I could show you some fun.”</p><p>“No, thank you.” Disgust roiled in her belly, but she held firm. Only a little more magick.</p><p>His grip on her arm tightened, finally crossing that line to painful as his mouth turned into a sneer. “I don’t think you get a say.” A blast of that harsh magick followed his words, but it hit her shield and slid away. He was so untrained, she realized over the next moment, he didn’t recognize that his magick never reached her. “Who’s going to hear you down here?”</p><p>“No one needs to hear me.” The stones under his feet started to glow, a pink haze dusting the bottom of her vision and Kagome smiled. With a release of that magick, she watched the color drain from his face and his grip on her arm went slack, the man stumbling back a few feet as sweat sprouted along his hairline.</p><p>“Now leave me alone,” she said, more magick lacing her words and carrying over the air. “Go home and remember how you earned the journey.”</p><p>The effect was immediate and his legs began moving before he could respond. Sounds from his mouth carried down the alley only to fall silent as her magick carried out her commands. She couldn’t stop the smile from her lips as his body turned into walls over and over. As soon as he reached the street, she knew he wouldn’t stop until he reached home, wherever that was.</p><p>“Not to critique how you handled that,” a new voice said over her shoulder, the peaceful touch of his pure magick stroking a caress over her skin, “but his home could be days away.”</p><p>“Then it would help him to find a horse,” Kagome answered evenly, looking back to catch the furious glint in Kouga’s eyes aimed at the man now leaving the alley. “As such, whether he does or not is no longer my concern.”</p><p>The rage softened in those blue eyes as they turned to her, a wry question tugging at one of his brows.</p><p>“Men who wave their wasted magick around without a thought will learn to the hard way to identify when they’ve gone over their heads.”</p><p>The question bled to satisfaction. “And this was only about one man’s arrogance concerning his magick?”</p><p>“No,” she spat, turning back toward the street. “This was about much more.”</p><p>In the following silence, Kagome took in low breaths, focusing on letting her anger and the lingering flash of fear underneath dissipate. That she felt fear was irritating, but she let the response go. It hadn’t controlled her and instead, had focused her anger. That was most important.</p><p>“The streets seem crowded,” Kouga said as he took a step forward and came into her peripheral. “Would you like to walk elsewhere?”</p><p>A  calming stroke of his magick accompanied his words and when she looked at him, his arm was already held out for her. “Elsewhere in the village, yes.”</p><p>His low laughter was another caress on her skin. “Yet again, you are too careful with your words.”</p><p>“Maybe one day, you’ll learn and cease trying to entrap me.”</p><p>That laughter grew, his free hand covering hers where it was placed on his forearm. “Maybe,” he answered lively as they turned and walked away from the noise, “though this is far too much fun.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>v.</em>
</p><p>Kouga was waiting for her the next year, dressed casually in tan breeches and a deep green tunic. It was much less formal from his previous years, but it fit the swell of heat that came with the early summer. His hair was tied back at the base of his neck and she thought he looked like one of the lords in the far region, content to live in the Capital.</p><p>His magick brushed over her in welcome and the image disappeared. Nothing so staid and pressed would suit this being so powerful and free.</p><p>They stopped at the vendor they had missed the previous year, enjoying the fair as they always had. Moving from there, it was down the row of merchants and trinkets and performers and all the things Kagome enjoyed experiencing. Kouga was natural next to her, this annual companion one she didn’t want to lose.</p><p>“That first year,” she began as they sat at a bench with a small portion of meat to share, “how did you learn out about our little fair?”</p><p>He chewed on his bite and Kagome could see him thinking through his answer. “I’d always known about it,” he finally said without a speck of lie on his tongue. “I used to visit long ago, dropping in when I could.”</p><p>Her breath caught in her throat, her magick reaching out for his. That otherworldliness danced on the air and Kagome knew the depth of what he was sharing. “Why did you return that year?”</p><p>His smile was one she loved and hated — it fit so perfectly on his handsome face, the mischief shining in his eyes indicating that she wouldn’t be receiving the answer she wanted. “Each village has its turn,” he continued. “The magick calls to me and I answer. I stay long enough to see what the magick would do and after the decision is made, I continue on.”</p><p>“Do you know how much longer you have here?” she asked, distraught at the thought of him not returning the next year.</p><p>“No, I do not know,” he said easily. “No one ever does.”</p><p>A weight settled in her stomach, the meat on her tongue turning to ash. What would happen the year that she came to the fair and didn’t feel the peace of his magick, the spark of his power? What would make her lose this treasured companion?</p><p>Desperation clawed at her throat, but she refused to give it voice. “Do you know what decision you await?”</p><p>“I do.” He took another bite and Kagome wrenched control of her despair in order to patiently wait for him to continue. “It is not something I can speak. The decision must be made without my interference and without my prodding.”</p><p>Frustration filled her. “So you’re supposed to wait on the magick to do whatever it wants?” she demanded, a turmoil of emotions churning inside her. “You’re stuck waiting on the whim of whatever forces you to be here?”</p><p>His smile stilled and she saw that bit of mischief disappear from his gaze. “Nothing forces me to be here,” he said solemnly, his attention fixed solely on her. “I’m here because I felt the draw and because I choose to return.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“It’s a song and dance that’s gone on for ages.” That otherworldliness fluttered up again, mesmerizing Kagome to listen for all the things he wasn’t saying. “The magick calls and I come to see what it’s sought my attention for. If it’s something I want, I wait. If I think it’s better suited for something else, I leave.”</p><p>The heaviness of his tone told her she’d overstepped, almost insulted this sacred tradition. Swallowing, Kagome tore her gaze from him, unable to look at him when she felt such shame creep up the back of her neck.</p><p>“I know what you want to ask,” he continued in that steady voice of his. “All I can tell you is that this call is worth waiting for.”</p><p>She nodded, her eyes picking apart every piece of meat left of her portion. They’d split the meal as they always did. Kagome forced herself to take another bite and then ask the next question burning on her tongue. “The last time you were here, did you wait?”</p><p>“No.” It was so quick an answer, she forgot she wasn’t looking at him and jerked up to meet those enchanting blue eyes. “Nor the time before that. Once, a very long time ago, I did wait.”</p><p>“Was it the decision you wanted?”</p><p>His brows furrowed and his eyes shifted, still looking at her but seeing nothing of her face. “At the time, no. Now, I’m glad for the decision it made.”</p><p>Kagome studied him as he was lost in his memories, flashes of emotions crossing behind shadows in his eyes. She ached to know what he saw, what he was reliving. What stories could this man tell? This man infused with power rivaling that of the sunset?</p><p>“When this decision is made,” Kagome swallowed down the temptation to ask a question he already said he wouldn’t answer, “you’ll have to leave again?”</p><p>Kouga nodded, his attention back in the present.</p><p>“You won’t be able to stay?” There was no hiding the yearning in her voice.</p><p>His answering smile was sad, somber, almost dull. Everything that didn’t suit him. “No, I will not. Staying would only cause a harm that would never mend.”</p><p>It was the answer she didn’t want, but Kagome had long learned the hard lesson that magick followed its own timing. If Kouga’s company would soon be gone, she wanted to make the most of it while she had it.</p><p>“Would you like to walk through the fields?”</p><p>He blinked, surprised at the request.</p><p>“We’ve almost finished going through the fair and I’d like to spend a little more time with you tonight.”</p><p>His smile when he gave it was charming, free, and inviting. He stood up and offered her a hand. “The fields, right?”</p><p>That thread of magick hung on the air and she laughed as she let him pull her to her feet. “The fields to the south, just between the village and my home.”</p><p>“Ah!” he cried with feigned sorrow. “Spoiled again!”</p><p>“You shouldn’t have clarified,” she teased back, giddy at the return of their banter.</p><p>“One of these days,” he warned playfully as they left the village. “One of these days, I’ll have you.”</p><p>“Only if I choose,” Kagome reminded him in an echo of that first year.</p><p>His smile was wicked as their feet hit the dirt of the road, buildings giving way to the view of hills and trees and mountains far in the distance. He tugged her close, the heat from his body warm and welcoming against hers. “Only if you choose.”</p><p>Away from the prying eyes of the villagers, there was a freedom with Kouga in the dark of the night with dim lights from the village. The ease in his steps and the underlying taunts in his voice, she stepped closer than normal, closer than safe and allowed her magick to dance alongside his. It was an intimate caress as they walked through the paths she knew so well, but one she wasn’t going to miss.</p><p>Should Kouga never return, Kagome wanted to remember him. She wanted these memories to store as she stored the small treasures he gifted her. And with that, she found herself pressed against the length of his front, her hands on his solid chest and her lips gracing over his, tasting the decadence she’d dreamed about for the last five years.</p><p>He caught her around her waist, chased her lips and tongue until he was sharing his taste with her, until her heart thundered in her ears and her body was languid in his arms. The rumble in his chest when she nipped his lip followed her in her dreams and the searing fire of his hands remained with her through the following weeks.</p><p><em>Please give me more time,</em> she asked the magick of the trees a month later. <em>Please don’t take him yet.</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>reprise.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Kagome,” came a withered voice behind her on the porch, full of wisdom she didn’t want to hear, “ye knows the dangers of the forest to a young lady such as ye.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kagome barely kept silent. She knew what she was doing, knew how to protect herself. She knew what was hiding in those trees and that one day, she was going to search it out. Too many years had been given to this village full of people who would keep her holed up forever for their selfish desires. The things tying her to the village grew less and less every day.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She wouldn’t stay. She couldn’t. She’d suffocate if she had to stay much longer — especially when the magick sent the one remaining tie away.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know, Kaede,” Kagome finally answered. “Just as I know how to deal with those dangers should they appear.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kaede didn’t have a response for that which was a surprise. The woman was never short for words, but instead of her voice, chittering birds sounded in the air. Beyond that were the sounds of nature coming from the expanse of grass, the village abnormally quiet.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It would get louder soon. It was always quiet before the noise of the fairs. For now, Kagome could sit and watch the trees, tasting the swell of nature on her tongue. Something felt different this time, something building, and Kagome feared the worst.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I used to wonder what kept ye from exploring the forest,” Kaede said then, an odd note in her tone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You mean on tope of your warnings of gruesome death should I take that first step?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The old woman ignored Kagome’s retort, her hard gaze steadily fixed beyond that first tree line. “Ye were borne for it. From the first sparkle of magick, I knew ye would one day be leaving us for him.”</em>
</p><p>Him?<em> Kagome kept silent, thoughts and suspicions and a small, glittering hope creeping up at the implications of Kaede’s words. </em></p><p>
  <em>“No one believed it, but I knew. Ye would grow out of this village and when ye did, the trees would call ye. They’d been calling ye for years.” Kaede’s hand smoothed over the wood back of her chair and finally, the woman’s gaze broke from the forest as she sat down in the old rocker. There was a knowledge deep in her eyes when she looked at Kagome. “Are ye afraid?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No.” The fear had faded over the last few months as her mind kept wandering toward the trees and the secrets that waited within them. The only fear left was that he wouldn’t return for her to say goodbye. “No, I’m not.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ah.” Kaede sounded tired, yet oddly enough like a burden was lifted off her shoulders. “Then it is tonight.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What?” Kagome asked, knowing she wouldn’t get the answer she wanted. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Don’t forget the hair pin,” was the only thing the woman said as she turned back toward the trees. “Ye wouldn’t want to be insulting.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>vi.</em>
</p><p>The fair was mysteriously quiet that night. People were around talking and laughing and dancing, but the sounds were muted. Instead, she heard whispers of the magick that ran through the earth calling out for those who would hear it.</p><p>Few in the village could hear it and Kagome was the only one who could feel it. Even Kaede who could listen with the precision of a hawk couldn’t touch the magick that was present for every moment of her life.</p><p>But there it was, muting the sounds bouncing up and down the street. She slipped unnoticed past the vendors and through the alleys, content to watch. Her friends passed a few times, either too focused on their plans to stop and speak to her. It wasn’t until after the third pass that Kagome suspected more to be at play, more that this magick circling the air was affecting.</p><p>With each step forward and each second that passed, she felt a freedom she’d only glimpsed.</p><p>As dusk settled over the village, she finally saw Kouga standing down at the far end of the main street. Just standing there, his gaze potent even from this distance. Joy filled her veins that he was here, that she could see him, but something held her back. He made no move to join her, she made no move to hurry toward him. Whatever happened tonight would be something worth savoring.</p><p>Her steps were steady as she continued. Her eyes continued moving over the people, content to take in the bustle and energy she knew was there but couldn’t touch. She could feel his gaze on her with every move she made, moving over her body and taking in the things she’d chosen to adorn herself with. The shoes he’d given her the second year, the cloak he’d shared as they walked the village on the fourth. Her face was accented with the paints they’d found the third year and at the crown of her head was the hair pin he’d given her that very first meeting.</p><p>How different that fair had been, she mused with a smile. Back when she didn’t know half of what she now knew, back when she didn’t understand just how much one man could shape her life.</p><p>Kaede’s words came back on a fleeting thought as Kagome drew closer. Kaede knew that Kagome’s time in the village was coming to an end, but would it really be tonight?</p><p>Kouga didn’t move from his spot on the edge of the street as she continued. He seemed content to watch and wait, but his expectation rode along the breeze. The sparkle of magick in the air was so palpable, she didn’t know how it didn’t attract the attention of everyone else. But no, the world was moving around her as if she didn’t exist in it. As if she were simply passing through.</p><p>A weight dragged behind her with each step, growing and growing until the final steps were heavy and difficult. She paused a meter from him, questions crowding her mind. Why would there be this resistance that never existed the years before? Why did it feel as if she were at the precipice of a cliff with no way to return should she take that leap?</p><p><em>It is tonight</em>, Kaede had said. Kagome thought it was about her leaving the village but maybe—</p><p><em>The magick calls to me and I answer</em>, Kouga’s voice echoes in her ear.</p><p>She cast a lingering glance down the street of the village. Not her village, just the village she grew up in. The village that Kaede resided by. The village that would have no use for Kagome once Kaede was gone.</p><p>“You’ve figured it out.” Kouga’s voice was quiet, but it filled the air around her. Heavy with magick, heady with power, he was no longer shielding himself from her.</p><p>The taste of that power sang through her veins. She wanted more.</p><p>“You don’t have to,” he continued as she watched the villagers enjoy the fair. “You can always choose to stay.”</p><p>Staying would mean suffocating. Staying would mean stagnating. Staying would mean never seeing this man again.</p><p>Staying wasn’t an option.</p><p>It had never been an option, Kagome realized. The only option that wouldn’t wither her heart to dust and leave her an empty shell was to say goodbye, offer her gratitude, and leave.</p><p>She sank in a deep curtsey, her magick pouring into the soil at her feet and spreading in soft pink tendrils toward the buildings and stands and people. Smiled danced over faces and feet moved freely and the already enjoyable air of the fair deepened. Gratitude poured along the lines and continued until Kagome was satisfied. Until she knew that as people discovered her absence, they wouldn’t feel betrayed.</p><p>Until she had given her last and final goodbye.</p><p>Kagome rose as the last trails of magick disappeared. The weights tugging at her feet were gone. Turning to face Kouga, there was the freedom she’d tasted and never held in her grasp; one so undeniably perfect, she wouldn’t have risked a single change that could have led to never touching it once.</p><p>Kouga’s eyes were shining in the dusk, the blue glowing with the power that thrummed through his body. She anticipated a welcome, but he gave her a warning instead. “It will be dangerous.”</p><p>The cadence of his tongue spoke of a ritual, one her magick rose to answer. “I am prepared.”</p><p>“You won’t be able to return.”</p><p>“A butterfly can never return to a cocoon.”</p><p>“I am demanding.” There was the shift, the note in his voice turning possessive and filled with the desire he’d kept at bay.</p><p>She swallowed, reaching for the words and the strength to say them. “I still choose.”</p><p>The hard expression on his face cracked, a gleaming shout of triumph dancing in his eyes. “And yet you still fear me.”</p><p>“No,” she corrected, aware of just whom she was speaking to. “I am nervous. I don’t know what to expect, but I don’t fear you.”</p><p>He held out his hand and she could feel it, the power wrapping around him. The magick coursing from him and the very essence of his being coming to life; the truth behind the pretty words and tamed appearance he’d worn like a cloak. Her blood pounded in her ears and her heart was in her throat, but her words were true. It was not fear.</p><p>Kouga’s hand was warm and rough and tingled where his skin touched hers. His fingers closed around her hand and he pulled her, swept her close until her breasts pressed against his chest, her hips against his thighs, and one finger underneath her jaw to lift her face to his.</p><p>She expected words or movement or the brush of his lips against her in a repeat of the year before, but instead he watched. Her body was taut against him, completely captured in his grasp, and still Kagome chose to wait for him.</p><p>“You are even more beautiful than that first night I saw you,” he said quietly as air brushed over her back. “I hope you won’t regret this decision because you’ll never be able to take it back.”</p><p>Kagome smiled at that, the tension breaking as she relaxed into his hold. “How could I regret something I’ve been wanting my entire life?”</p><p>“You wanted to leave this village?” he asked, searching for the words she needed to say.</p><p>“I wanted to find the one I could belong to,” she answered, the truth in her words becoming real as she said them, “and the one who would belong to me.”</p><p>“I’ve been yours since you first refused to give me your name.” The weight of that reality settled nicely over her shoulders, a beautiful, freeing power that spoke of a deepness she couldn’t fathom. “It is you who has been unsure.”</p><p>“I am unsure no longer.”</p><p>“Prove it,” he whispered against her lips, his eyes locked on hers. “May I have your name?”</p><p>“You may have me,” her magick bled out in a rush only to return right back mixed with his, both twining around and around until she couldn’t tell where hers ended and his began, “for as long as you choose.”</p><p>His beautiful eyes slid closed as the full weight of her gift settled between them and when they opened, she could see the world shining out through their gorgeous color. “And you have me,” he answered in kind, his magick sparkling as it danced over them, cycling up into the air, “until the end of time.”</p><p>The forest burst with sounds as the column of his magick shot up, a brilliant display of colors blending and churning and spreading over his dominion. His lips touched hers and everything fell away but his taste and his heat. His magick pulsed through her and her magick danced through him, an intimacy unbending, unweilding, unbreakable.</p><p><em>Until the end of time</em>, he had said, a heavy, searing vow holding the full weight of his power. Kagome smiled into the kiss, her arms twining around his neck and her fingers flowing through his hair, celebrating the knowledge that nothing could cause that vow to break.</p>
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